A LiDAR Point Clouds Dataset of Ships in a Maritime Environment

For the first time, this article introduces a LiDAR Point Clouds Dataset of Ships composed of both collected and simulated data to address the scarcity of LiDAR data in maritime applications. The collected data are acquired using specialized maritime LiDAR sensors in both inland waterways and wide-open ocean environments. The simulated data is generated by placing a ship in the LiDAR coordinate system and scanning it with a redeveloped Blensor that emulates the operation of a LiDAR sensor equipped with various laser beams. Furthermore,we also render point clouds for foggy and rainy weather conditions. To describe a realistic shipping environment, a dynamic tail wave is modeled by iterating the wave elevation of each point in a time series. Finally, networks serving small objects are migrated to ship applications by feeding our dataset. The positive effect of simulated data is described in object detection experiments, and the negative impact of tail waves as noise is verified in single-object tracking experiments. The Dataset is available at https://github.com/zqy411470859/ship_dataset.

基于轻量化PointNet网络的林果园喷雾作业靶标实时识别方法

为了进一步提高喷雾机器人靶标检测的精准性、实时性和应用部署的实用性,该研究提出一种基于轻量化PointNet网络的林果园喷雾作业靶标实时识别方法。首先通过区域提取降采样、地面分割和改进DBSCAN聚类等点云预处理方法提取原始点云中的靶标;然后通过移动最小二乘上采样将靶标点云转化为满足点云识别网络输入要求的点云数据;最终通过在PointNet网络中引入残差模块和改进循环剪枝算法轻量化PointNet网络,完成林果树靶标的实时识别。试验结果表明,在ModelNet40数据集上,轻量化PointNet网络可达89.7%的准确率;在实际苗圃环境的试验中,该研究方法对靶标的识别准确率可达92.49%,同时误识率与拒识率分别为13.4%和6.47%,相较PointNet网络识别准确率提升了4.38个百分点,误识率和拒识率分别降低了7.2和4.07个百分点;轻量化PointNet网络识别准确率仅比PointNet++网络低1.14个百分点,误识率和拒识率分别高了0.9和1.12个百分点。但是轻量化PointNet网络的模型参数量较PointNet网络和PointNet++网络的模型参数量显著减少,仅为PointNet网络的11.5%,PointNet++网络的27.02%;运算量相较PointNet网络、PointNet++网络分别减少13.3和76.79个百分点。该研究提出的轻量化PointNet网络具有较高的实时性、精确性和鲁棒性,能够满足林果园喷雾作业的靶标识别需求,可为林果园喷雾作业靶标实时识别提供参考。

基于PointNet++的邻域特征增强点云语义分割方法

随着智能驾驶、机器人导航等以点云为基础的应用蓬勃发展,点云语义分割逐渐成为研究热点。然而,现有的点云语义分割方法存在局部特征提取不充分、特征融合不完整的缺陷。针对这些不足,提出了对应的解决方案。对于局部特征提取不充分的现象,通过嵌入邻域点的坐标、方向、距离等相关信息去关联邻域点的显式特征。对于特征融合不完整的现象,提出了一种最大池化与自注意力池化相结合的混合池化方法。网络架构基于PointNet++,并结合提出的局部特征提取和融合方法,在S3DIS数据集上的实验结果表明,与基线方法PointNet++相比,各评价指标都有不同程度的提高,证实了新方法的有效性和优越性。

基于Point Transformer v2的点云枝叶分离方法研究

准确高效的点云枝叶分离对精确计算森林树木的垂直参数至关重要。然而,当前的研究方法计算成本高,且依赖先验知识导致泛化能力不足。针对以上问题,文章提出利用基于点特征的Transformer网络进行自动化的森林场景三维点云的枝叶分离研究。该方法使用Point Transformer v2网络,首先利用网格编码模块提取可学习的局部结构关系,保留点云的几何拓扑结构;其次使用分组注意力实现多通道联合学习,降低特征的冗余度,提高计算的效率;最后构建了基于点的Transformer网络实现高精度森林树木三维点云语义分割,降低了对于先验知识的需求。使用地基激光扫描仪获取的加拿大和芬兰7个不同树种样地的三维点云数据,进行枝叶分离实验和精度评价。实验结果表明,网络整体精度(OA)为94.42%,mIoU为78.89%,能够适应不同树种、不同点云密度的森林场景的枝叶分离。

Point Cloud Classification Using Content-Based Transformer via Clustering in Feature Space

Recently, there have been some attempts of Transformer in 3D point cloud classification. In order to reduce computations, most existing methods focus on local spatial attention,but ignore their content and fail to establish relationships between distant but relevant points. To overcome the limitation of local spatial attention, we propose a point content-based Transformer architecture, called PointConT for short. It exploits the locality of points in the feature space(content-based), which clusters the sampled points with similar features into the same class and computes the self-attention within each class, thus enabling an effective trade-off between capturing long-range dependencies and computational complexity. We further introduce an inception feature aggregator for point cloud classification, which uses parallel structures to aggregate high-frequency and low-frequency information in each branch separately. Extensive experiments show that our PointConT model achieves a remarkable performance on point cloud shape classification. Especially, our method exhibits 90.3% Top-1 accuracy on the hardest setting of ScanObjectN N. Source code of this paper is available at https://github.com/yahuiliu99/PointC onT.

Two-Staged Method for Ice Channel Identification Based on Image Segmentation and Corner Point Regression

Identification of the ice channel is the basic technology for developing intelligent ships in ice-covered waters,which is important to ensure the safety and economy of navigation.In the Arctic,merchant ships with low ice class often navigate in channels opened up by icebreakers.Navigation in the ice channel often depends on good maneuverability skills and abundant experience from the captain to a large extent.The ship may get stuck if steered into ice fields off the channel.Under this circumstance,it is very important to study how to identify the boundary lines of ice channels with a reliable method.In this paper,a two-staged ice channel identification method is developed based on image segmentation and corner point regression.The first stage employs the image segmentation method to extract channel regions.In the second stage,an intelligent corner regression network is proposed to extract the channel boundary lines from the channel region.A non-intelligent angle-based filtering and clustering method is proposed and compared with corner point regression network.The training and evaluation of the segmentation method and corner regression network are carried out on the synthetic and real ice channel dataset.The evaluation results show that the accuracy of the method using the corner point regression network in the second stage is achieved as high as 73.33%on the synthetic ice channel dataset and 70.66%on the real ice channel dataset,and the processing speed can reach up to 14.58frames per second.

Material point method simulation of hydro-mechanical behaviour in twophase porous geomaterials: A state-of-the-art review

The material point method(MPM)has been gaining increasing popularity as an appropriate approach to the solution of coupled hydro-mechanical problems involving large deformation.In this paper,we survey the current state-of-the-art in the MPM simulation of hydro-mechanical behaviour in two-phase porous geomaterials.The review covers the recent advances and developments in the MPM and their extensions to capture the coupled hydro-mechanical problems involving large deformations.The focus of this review is aiming at providing a clear picture of what has or has not been developed or implemented for simulating two-phase coupled large deformation problems,which will provide some direct reference for both practitioners and researchers.

Automatic Extraction Method of 3D Feature Guidelines for Complex Cultural Relic Surfaces Based on Point Cloud

Cultural relics line graphic serves as a crucial form of traditional artifact information documentation,which is a simple and intuitive product with low cost of displaying compared with 3D models.Dimensionality reduction is undoubtedly necessary for line drawings.However,most existing methods for artifact drawing rely on the principles of orthographic projection that always cannot avoid angle occlusion and data overlapping while the surface of cultural relics is complex.Therefore,conformal mapping was introduced as a dimensionality reduction way to compensate for the limitation of orthographic projection.Based on the given criteria for assessing surface complexity,this paper proposed a three-dimensional feature guideline extraction method for complex cultural relic surfaces.A 2D and 3D combined factor that measured the importance of points on describing surface features,vertex weight,was designed.Then the selection threshold for feature guideline extraction was determined based on the differences between vertex weight and shape index distributions.The feasibility and stability were verified through experiments conducted on real cultural relic surface data.Results demonstrated the ability of the method to address the challenges associated with the automatic generation of line drawings for complex surfaces.The extraction method and the obtained results will be useful for line graphic drawing,displaying and propaganda of cultural relics.

Towards an Antimicrobial Stewardship Program in a Young Tertiary Hospital in Southern Nigeria: A Point Prevalence Survey of Antimicrobial Usage

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity and this burden is borne largely by low and middle-income countries. As part of efforts to combat AMR, the World Health Organization has identified Antimicrobial Stewardship as one of the strategic objectives of its global action plan on antimicrobial resistance. This survey aimed to observe antimicrobial prescribing and usage patterns in the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital with the purpose of identifying gaps to inform the specific antimicrobial stewardship interventions necessary to address our specific needs. Methodology: A point prevalence survey was conducted using the protocol and web-based automated data management system designed by the Global Point Prevalence Survey of Antimicrobial Consumption and Resistance, University of Antwerp, Belgium, in November 2021. Results: A total of 69 adult medical and surgical patients were surveyed;27 males and 18 females. Antimicrobial prevalence was 65.2%. Third generation cephalosporins (24.4%;33.3%), fluoroquinolones (17.8%;22.2%) and imidazole derivatives (20%;36.1%) were most prescribed on the medical and surgical wards. Antimicrobial guidelines were completely unavailable, most antimicrobials (93.8%) were prescribed empirically and 64.4% of these remained empirical after 72 hours of commencement. Conclusion: Antimicrobial stewardship interventions are necessary to minimize sub-optimal antimicrobial prescribing practices in our facility. Most critical are education on appropriate use of antimicrobials, support for development of antimicrobial guidelines, diagnostic stewardship, and the drive for improved use of the laboratory to guide antimicrobial prescriptions. The antimicrobial stewardship committee and team must drive this, having the requisite support from the management and prescribers, with the primary outcomes being reduced antimicrobial prevalence and improved antimicrobial prescription patterns.

基于改进PointNet++的输电线路关键部位点云语义分割研究

输电线路的关键部位包括塔身、导线、绝缘子、避雷线以及引流线,无人机精细化导航的首要任务是构造输电线路的点云地图并从中分割出上述部位。为解决现有算法在输电线路的绝缘子、引流线等精细结构分割时精度低的问题,通过改进PointNet++算法,提出了一种面向输电线路精细结构的点云分割方法。首先,基于无人机机载激光雷达在现场采集的点云数据,构造了输电线路点云分割数据集;其次,通过对比实验,筛选出在本输电线路场景下合理的数据增强方法,并对数据集进行了数据增强;最后,将自注意力机制以及倒置残差结构和PointNet++相结合,设计了输电线路关键部位点云语义分割算法。实验结果表明:该改进PointNet++算法在全场景输电线路现场点云数据作为输入的前提下,首次实现了对引流线、绝缘子等输电线路中精细结构和导线、杆塔塔身以及输电线路无关背景点的同时分割,平均交并比(mean intersection over union,mIoU)达80.79%,所有类别分割的平均F_(1)值(F1 score)达88.99%。

Coexistence of Dirac and Weyl points in non-centrosymmetric semimetal NbIrTe_(4)

Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations methods,we investigate the electronic structures and topological properties of ternary tellurides NbIrTe_(4),a candidate for type-II Weyl semimetal.We demonstrate the presence of several Fermi arcs connecting their corresponding Weyl points on both termination surfaces of the topological material.Our analysis reveals the existence of Dirac points,in addition to Weyl points,giving both theoretical and experimental evidences of the coexistence of Dirac and Weyl points in a single material.These findings not only confirm NbIrTe_(4) as a unique topological semimetal but also open avenues for exploring novel electronic devices based on its coexisting Dirac and Weyl fermions.

PCT和PointMLP融合的三维点云分类算法研究

为了提高三维点云数据的分类准确率,对注意力机制的PCT与残差点MLP的PointMLP的融合算法进行研究。首先,加入几何仿射模块对输入点云进行正态分布以解决点云的密度不均匀和几何结构不确定性;其次,在编码模块首先使用注意力机制对上层特征进行全局表达,之后加入残差点MLP模块对注意力模块的输出特征进行深度特征表示以充分提取点云特征;最后是分类模块,完成下游点云分类任务。实验结果表明,改进后的算法在ModelNet40数据集上的分类准确率达到95.6%,相比PCT模型准确率提高了2.4%,且对点云数量的变化具有鲁棒性。

基于知识蒸馏和定位引导的Pointpillars点云检测网络

激光雷达数据由于其几何特性,被广泛应用于三维目标检测任务中。由于点云数据的稀疏性和不规则性,难以实现特征提取的质量和推理速度间的平衡。本文提出一种基于体柱特征编码的三维目标检测算法,以Pointpillars网络为基础,设计Teacher-Student模型框架对回归框尺度进行蒸馏,增加蒸馏损失,优化训练网络模型,提升特征提取的质量。为进一步提高模型检测效果,设计定位引导分类项,增加分类预测和回归预测之间的相关性,提高物体识别准确率。本网络所做改进没有引入额外的网络嵌入。算法在KITTI数据集上的实验结果表明,相比于基准网络,在三维模式下的平均精度值从60.65%提升到了64.69%,鸟瞰图模式下的平均精度值从67.74%提升到70.24%。模型推理速度为45 FPS,在提升检测精度的同时满足了实时性要求。

Diagnosis of indirectly driven double shell targets with point-projection hard x-ray radiography

We present an application of short-pulse laser-generated hard x rays for the diagnosis of indirectly driven double shell targets. Coneinserted double shell targets were imploded through an indirect drive approach on the upgraded SG-II laser facility. Then, based on thepoint-projection hard x-ray radiography technique, time-resolved radiography of the double shell targets, including that of their near-peakcompression, were obtained. The backlighter source was created by the interactions of a high-intensity short pulsed laser with a metalmicrowire target. Images of the target near peak compression were obtained with an Au microwire. In addition, radiation hydrodynamicsimulations were performed, and the target evolution obtained agrees well with the experimental results. Using the radiographic images, arealdensities of the targets were evaluated.

Exceptional points and quantum dynamics in a non-Hermitian two-qubit system

We study the exceptional-point(EP) structure and the associated quantum dynamics in a system consisting of a non-Hermitian qubit and a Hermitian qubit. We find that the system possesses two sets of EPs, which divide the systemparameter space into PT-symmetry unbroken, partially broken and fully broken regimes, each with distinct quantumdynamics characteristics. Particularly, in the partially broken regime, while the PT-symmetry is generally broken in the whole four-dimensional Hilbert space, it is preserved in a two-dimensional subspace such that the quantum dynamics in the subspace are similar to those in the PT-symmetry unbroken regime. In addition, we reveal that the competition between the inter-qubit coupling and the intra-qubit driving gives rise to a complex pattern in the EP variation with system parameters.

Part-Whole Relational Few-Shot 3D Point Cloud Semantic Segmentation

This paper focuses on the task of few-shot 3D point cloud semantic segmentation.Despite some progress,this task still encounters many issues due to the insufficient samples given,e.g.,incomplete object segmentation and inaccurate semantic discrimination.To tackle these issues,we first leverage part-whole relationships into the task of 3D point cloud semantic segmentation to capture semantic integrity,which is empowered by the dynamic capsule routing with the module of 3D Capsule Networks(CapsNets)in the embedding network.Concretely,the dynamic routing amalgamates geometric information of the 3D point cloud data to construct higher-level feature representations,which capture the relationships between object parts and their wholes.Secondly,we designed a multi-prototype enhancement module to enhance the prototype discriminability.Specifically,the single-prototype enhancement mechanism is expanded to the multi-prototype enhancement version for capturing rich semantics.Besides,the shot-correlation within the category is calculated via the interaction of different samples to enhance the intra-category similarity.Ablation studies prove that the involved part-whole relations and proposed multi-prototype enhancement module help to achieve complete object segmentation and improve semantic discrimination.Moreover,under the integration of these two modules,quantitative and qualitative experiments on two public benchmarks,including S3DIS and ScanNet,indicate the superior performance of the proposed framework on the task of 3D point cloud semantic segmentation,compared to some state-of-the-art methods.

Prediction of collapse process and tipping points for mutualistic and competitive networks with k-core method

Ecosystems generally have the self-adapting ability to resist various external pressures or disturbances,which is always called resilience.However,once the external disturbances exceed the tipping points of the system resilience,the consequences would be catastrophic,and eventually lead the ecosystem to complete collapse.We capture the collapse process of ecosystems represented by plant-pollinator networks with the k-core nested structural method,and find that a sufficiently weak interaction strength or a sufficiently large competition weight can cause the structure of the ecosystem to collapse from its smallest k-core towards its largest k-core.Then we give the tipping points of structure and dynamic collapse of the entire system from the one-dimensional dynamic function of the ecosystem.Our work provides an intuitive and precise description of the dynamic process of ecosystem collapse under multiple interactions,and provides theoretical insights into further avoiding the occurrence of ecosystem collapse.

Triple points and phase transitions of D-dimensional dyonic Ad S black holes with quasitopological electromagnetism in Einstein–Gauss–Bonnet gravity

By considering the negative cosmological constant Λ as a thermodynamic pressure, we study the thermodynamics and phase transitions of the D-dimensional dyonic Ad S black holes(BHs) with quasitopological electromagnetism in Einstein–Gauss–Bonnet(EGB) gravity. The results indicate that the small/large BH phase transition that is similar to the van der Waals(vdW) liquid/gas phase transition always exists for any spacetime dimensions. Interestingly, we then find that this BH system exhibits a more complex phase structure in 6-dimensional case that is missed in other dimensions.Specifically, it shows for D = 6 that we observed the small/intermediate/large BH phase transitions in a specific parameter region with the triple point naturally appeared. Moreover, when the magnetic charge turned off, we still observed the small/intermediate/large BH phase transitions and triple point only in 6-dimensional spacetime, which is consistent with the previous results. However, for the dyonic Ad S BHs with quasitopological electromagnetism in Einstein–Born–Infeld(EBI) gravity, the novel phase structure composed of two separate coexistence curves observed by Li et al. [Phys. Rev. D105 104048(2022)] disappeared in EGB gravity. This implies that this novel phase structure is closely related to gravity theories, and seems to have nothing to do with the effect of quasitopological electromagnetism. In addition, it is also true that the critical exponents calculated near the critical points possess identical values as mean field theory. Finally, we conclude that these findings shall provide some deep insights into the intriguing thermodynamic properties of the dyonic Ad S BHs with quasitopological electromagnetism in EGB gravity.

Petrophysical Evaluation of Cape Three Points Reservoirs

The findings of a study to ascertain and assess the petrophysical characteristics of Cape Three Points reservoirs in the Western basin with a view to describe the reservoir quantitatively using Well Logs, Petrel and Techlog. The investigated characteristics, which were all deduced from geophysical wire-line logs, include lithology, porosity, permeability, fluid saturation, and net to gross thickness. To characterise the reservoir on the field, a suite of wire-line logs including gamma ray, resistivity, spontaneous potential, and density logs for three wells (WELL_1X, WELL_2X, and WELL_3X) from the Tano Cape Three Point basin were studied. The analyses that were done included lithology delineation, reservoir identification, and petrophysical parameter determination for the identified reservoirs. The tops and bases of the three wells analysed were marked at a depth of 1203.06 - 2015.64 m, 3863.03 - 4253.85 m and 2497.38 - 2560.32 m respectively. There were no hydrocarbons in the reservoirs from the studies. The petrophysical parameters computed for each reservoir provided porosities of 13%, 3% and 11% respectively. The water saturation also determined for these three wells (WELL_1X, WELL_2X and WELL_3X) were 94%, 95% and 89% respectively. These results together with the behaviour of the density and neutron logs suggested that these wells are wildcat wells.

Genetically modified pigs with CD163 point mutation are resistant to HP-PRRSV infection

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome(PRRS)is a globally prevalent contagious disease caused by the positive-strand RNA PRRS virus(PRRSV),resulting in substantial economic losses in the swine industry.Modifying the CD163 SRCR5 domain,either through deletion or substitution,can eff1ectively confer resistance to PRRSV infection in pigs.However,large fragment modifications in pigs inevitably raise concerns about potential adverse effects on growth performance.Reducing the impact of genetic modifications on normal physiological functions is a promising direction for developing PRRSV-resistant pigs.In the current study,we identified a specific functional amino acid in CD163 that influences PRRSV proliferation.Viral infection experiments conducted on Marc145 and PK-15CD163 cells illustrated that the mE535G or corresponding pE529G mutations markedly inhibited highly pathogenic PRRSV(HP-PRRSV)proliferation by preventing viral binding and entry.Furthermore,individual viral challenge tests revealed that pigs with the E529G mutation had viral loads two orders of magnitude lower than wild-type(WT)pigs,confirming effective resistance to HP-PRRSV.Examination of the physiological indicators and scavenger function of CD163 verified no significant differences between the WT and E529G pigs.These findings suggest that E529G pigs can be used for breeding PRRSV-resistant pigs,providing novel insights into controlling future PRRSV outbreaks.